THERMOPYLAE was one of a series of vessels built by Walter Hood for the Aberdeen White Star Line; unusually, she was designed by Bernard Weymouth, senior surveyor at Lloyds Register contemporaneously with his preparing the Society’s Recommendations for Composite Ships.

The THERMOPYLAE was one of the fastest clipper ships; she was designed for the China tea trade, and set speed records on her maiden voyage to Melbourne - 63 days, still the fastest trip under sail. The CUTTY SARK was built the following year to compete with THERMOPYLAE in bringing back the new season's tea from China. In 1872 she raced the clipper CUTTY SARK from Shanghai back to London and won by seven days after CUTTY SARK lost her rudder. Her record day's run was 380 statute miles, a feat exceeded by no sailing ship before. From 1879, with steam displacing sail from the China tea trade, she to Sydney as her Australian terminal and entered the Australian wool trade homewards, with but one final tea run in 1881.

Aberdeen Herald, 22 August 1868:
'LAUNCH - There was launched, on Wednesday, from the shipbuilding-yard of Messrs. Walter Hood & Co. a composite ship of 1300 tons, owned by Messrs. George Thompson & Co., and commanded by Captain Edward, late of the Ethiopian. The ship, which was christened "The Thermopylae" by Mrs Hardy Robinson of Denmore, has been throughout constructed after the most approved principles, built of the most durable materials, and classed in the highest range of character at Lloyds. She is intended for the London and China trade.'

All of George Thompson's Aberdeen White Star Line vessels were noted for their handsome appearance; green hull, gilded scroll work and white masts, yards and bowsprit. The THERMOPYLAE had a white and gold figurehead of the Greek hero Leonidas, the King of Sparta.

During her early career THERMOPYLAE was presented with a statue of a golden cockerel, which was placed atop her main trunk, only to be stolen one night and discovered the next day at the top of her rival, the TAIPING's main mast and restored to its rightful owner.

Despite the newspaper articles of the launch stating her master as Captain Edward, who captained her from Aberdeen to London; in the event of her maiden voyage from London to Melbourne, George Thompson favoured Captain Robert Kemball. Kemball had made a name for himself on the Hall-built clipper YANGTZE in the 1867 tea race and proved to be a popular and highly successful captain.

On her maiden voyage, THERMOPYLAE sailed to Melbourne in just 60 days, pilot to pilot, via Shanghai and Foochow, breaking records on each leg of the journey - only steamers had previously matched such speeds.
The Aberdeen Journal commented; " 'Thermopylae', Kemball, arrived Melbourne 9th January from London 61days. Sailed thence 22nd, arrived Newcastle N.S.W., 30th January."

The Melbourne Argus reported the arrival of THERMOPYLAE thus:
13 January 1869, page 6,
'The splendid and almost unprecedentedly rapid passage made by the new clipper ship Thermopylae, from London to this port, has created more than ordinary interest in nautical and commercial circles...It seemed almost impossible, and certainly never entered into the calculations of the most sanguine, that a voyage to the antipodes could be accomplished by a sailing-ship in fifty-nine days, the period taken by the Thermopylae to within sight of the Australian coast...She is in every respect a fine specimen of naval architecture, a model of symmetry and beauty; her sweeping lines and exquisite proportions, her graceful outline and general compactness, conveying an idea of perfection.'

'Both vessels crowded sail on the same course, but as soon as THERMOPYLAE had her canvas set she began to draw rapidly away from the warship, in spite of all the latter's efforts to stay with her. At last, when the THERMOPYLAE had conclusively proved her superiority, the captain of the CHARYBDIS could not restrain his admiration, and hoisted the following signal in the Mercantile Code as he rapidly dropped astern: "Good bye. You are too much for us. You are the finest model of a ship I ever saw. It does my heart good to look at you." '

Despite her fame as a tea clipper, THERMOPYLAE more often sailed to Australia in the wool trade.

In 1890, after more than two decades as a China tea clipper and then an Australian wool clipper, THERMOPYLAE was sold by her Aberdeen owners to a Canadian company Thomas Reford. She was put on the rice and timber carrying trade between South East Asia and Vancouver. Despite shortened masts and being cut down to a barque rig in July 1893 and her crew reduced from 35 to 20 men, she continued to make speedy passages. On one occasion she crossed the Pacific in 29 days, a world record at that time, and on another kept level for three days with the Canadian Pacific steam liner EMPRESS OF INDIA, which was capable of 16 knots.

In 1895 she was sold to the Portuguese Navy as a training ship and renamed PEDRO NUNES, after a 16th century Portuguese mathematician and geographer. The vessel was found to be in too decrepit a state for the intended conversion, and she was reduced to a coal hulk. 13th October 1907, her useful life expired, she was towed out to the mouth of the River Tagus as part of naval regatta presided over by the Queen of Portugal, and sunk by two Whitehead torpedoes fired by torpedo boats.

In June 2003 a group of professional Portuguese divers found the remains of THERMOPYLAE about 30 metres down on the seabed off Lisbon. The hull is mainly buried beneath the sand but enough is visible to identify her as THERMOPYLAE.

Sydney Morning Herald, 02/05/1913:
The famous old clipper ship THERMOPYLAE has at last been destroyed. Till recently she was used by the Portuguese as a training ship on the River Tagus, but being too old for further service it was decided to do away with her. As the old vessel had such a fine reputation in days gone by, it was decided not to sell her, but to give her a naval funeral. She was towed out to sea by 2 Portuguese Men O'War and sunk.

The following is from the book "Clippers for the Record" by Marny Matheson, 1984.

With Charles Matheson's promotion, Captain John Henderson took over THERMOPYLAE and sailed her for three voyages from March 1881 to January 1884. He captained her on her last visit to Foochow in 1881, returning in one hundred and seven days. The next two years saw him following Charles' previous route via Sydney, returning with wool round Cape Horn.

Under Allan THERMOPYLAE'S routines changed. In 1885 she sailed for Melbourne, arriving there on 8th April. Two weeks later she set out to visit Lyttleton, the port of Christchurch N.Z., with coal from the bustling Newcastle. She returned to Sydney by 16th August with a typical New Zealand cargo of produce.

20:08:1896 Vessel “Armed” [Commissioned?]. Was intended as school ship, but conversion never happened and vessel reduced to a coal hulk.

13:10:1907 Vessel towed out to mouth of Tagus at a Portugese Navy League regatta attended by Queen of Portugal, and sunk by Whitehead Torpedoes fired by Torpedo Boat No: 3 under command of First Lieutenant Jose da Cunha Rola Pereira.